


Interlude

by rippergiles



Series: Our Time [6]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-08-29 10:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16742068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rippergiles/pseuds/rippergiles
Summary: 1976-1997. What happened between when Rupert left and Ethan returned?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little summary of twenty years apart, before we move into the Giles and Ethan relationship of the show. Thanks so much if you've read up to this point- it means more than you know.
> 
> I have reformatted this work since publishing it, so some previous comments may not match up with the chapter they were left on. My apologies for any confusion.

_And you said you always had my back  
_ _Oh but how were we to know  
_ _That these are the days that bind you together, forever  
_ _And these little things define you forever, forever_  

_All this bad blood here, won't you let it dry?_  
_It's been cold for years, won't you let it lie?_

_If we're only ever looking back_  
_We will drive ourselves insane_  
_As the friendship goes, resentment grows_  
_We will walk our different ways_

_But those are the days that bind us together, forever_  
_And those little things define us forever, forever  
_**-Bad Blood, Bastille**

 

 

        Rupert’s return to the Watcher Academy was less humiliating than it could have been. He wasn’t lying to Ethan, he _had_ changed since the last time he was here. As suspected, he finished his training quickly and passed his certifications with flying colours, even if his tendency toward smart-arse remarks didn’t endear him to any of the elder Watchers who were evaluating him.  
  
        He was less rank-and-file now, but the work wasn’t as demoralising, either. He had access to an incredible collection of research and literature, concerning everything from demons to deities. It wasn’t unusual for him to wake up with the sun streaming through the windows of the Council library, having fallen asleep at a desk or in an armchair the previous night. Rupert buried himself in his studies to forget Eyghon, forget Randall, forget Ethan. His failures.  
  
        He would get a phone call or postcard from Dee once in a while, at first. He’d always answer, but listening to or reading her descriptions of her life forced him to recognise what was missing. That bubbly, beautiful girl he had loved was tinged with something else now. Not outright wistfulness, but a kind of contemplative worldliness, a loss of innocence, and Rupert felt he was responsible for that, too. The letters and calls became fewer and far between, and eventually he was speaking to her for the last time without either of them knowing it.

        Sometimes he thought of reaching out to Ethan, an olive branch of friendship at least, but the longer he went without doing so, the harder the idea was to stomach. Suddenly years had passed by and he had no idea where Ethan was anymore. He couldn’t be certain, but Rupert suspected he would feel it if Ethan were dead. With that unpleasant image looming over him, he had decided that no news was good news.  
  
        It shocked Rupert more than anyone when he was selected as  _the_ Watcher for _the_ Slayer. His less than perfect track record in contrast to other members’ decades of experience made him suspect perhaps they just wanted to ship him off to California to be rid of him. There was also the unsettling fact that the girl’s previous Watcher had died so shortly after her Calling, despite being far more experienced than Rupert was. Whatever the Council’s motivations for choosing him, he was determined to do a good job.  
  
        They’d set him up with credentials any high school would be lucky to employ. He’d reorganised the school library and familiarised himself with the curriculums, knowing he’d be expected to be a librarian to the entire student body, not just a Watcher to one girl.  
  
        His expectations had been rather dampened by the end of the first day. The single student who visited the library was the Slayer herself, a blonde, cheerful sprite of a girl. A great feeling of purpose filled his chest when he brought out the Vampyr compendium and launched into his introduction. This was the moment he’d trained for his entire life.  
  
        And then it wasn’t. The unimpressed Buffy (what kinds of things did Americans name their children these days?) had rejected him, rebuking the Council and demanding to be left alone. Lost for what to do, Rupert had spent most of the day absentmindedly dusting and re-dusting the same shelf as he considered calling the Council and asking what to do about a Slayer who refused to slay.

         As grotesque as it sounded, a dead body in the locker room was a near-miracle in his eyes as it spurred the Slayer into action, sending her back to his library of her own free will. Before long there were others as well, though Rupert grew anxious as the circle of people aware of Buffy’s calling grew. Eventually he found himself mentoring a small collection of misfits, without the slightest idea of how it had happened. They called him by his surname.  
  
       Rupert’s personal life had rather come to a standstill, first from his own tendency to deny himself anything that would bring him joy, and then from an utter lack of attractive possibilities. He hadn’t spent time with many people outside the Council when he was still in London, and now that he was stuck in a high school, his romantic prospects were even more limited. The only physically appealing person on staff was the computer science teacher, and he rather thought her antagonism toward him precluded the possibility of actual romance.  
  
        For as much as he’d been trained to see Slayers as tools, he hadn’t quite expected to have a headstrong teenager challenging his every instruction. The stubbornness of youth secretly delighted him sometimes, reminding him all too much of a more carefree time in his own life. He still endeavoured to display exasperation at their antics, lest they think him too lenient.  
  
        The Council checked in on him less often than he’d expected, though still more often than he would have liked. Rupert had as much freedom as he could want to train Buffy as he saw fit, but he knew the day would come when she would be tested to the Council’s standards, and he was the only thing preparing her for that challenge. They continued to value Buffy only as a weapon, and despite his best efforts, he’d come to truly care for her as the strong, humorous, passionate person she was. He could almost hear Ethan saying _I told you so_.


	2. Chapter 2

  
        Janus and chaos continued to serve him well; Ethan’s lack of belief in objective “good” allowed him to complete all sorts of jobs for all sorts of clientele. He wasn’t rich by any means, but in his experience, extravagance led to too many eyes on you. He lived comfortably, and he was often traveling to far reaches of the globe he’d never have seen otherwise.

        He loved to rouse protesters in any setting, whether he cared about the cause or not, merely reveling in the madness of the heaving crowds. Chipping away at the Berlin Wall as people formed human pyramids to scale it gave him a particular sense of pride- the bit of concrete he’d dislodged held a place of honor on his shelves. He made sure important people were in the wrong place at the right time, dismantling the expected results of would-be significant events. Ethan couldn’t see the future- he’d yet to meet a true clairvoyant- but he was especially adept at recognising patterns and extrapolating the possibilities, then adjusting them as he saw fit. What really amazed him was how, time after time, if you  _distracted_ the population enough, anything could happen behind the scenes and not be noticed. He found that most people were internally  _begging_ for these distractions from their mundane lives; humans were such fickle creatures.

        He’d upset sports outcomes with a flick of his wrist, making excellent profit by betting on the slimmest of odds. He could change the evidence at crime scenes, for the right price. That skill was highly prized by demons and vampires trying to keep a low profile, Ethan’s efforts shifting the blame toward other humans as the real culprits. He could even change elections in the favor of the highest bidder, given a tiny bit of access to the voting machines. He was already being contacted by a governor in America for a job  _years_ in the future. He intended on taking it- he’d always wanted to visit Florida, anyway.  
  
        In the meantime, his work on big jobs allowed him to relax for a while, only engaging with chaos magic for pleasure. Sometimes he made people happy, popping open the dispenser on an ATM from across the street and smiling as he watched people scramble to pick up the cash shooting out. Once he saw a man kick his dog and followed them home, cutting the dog’s chain and sending it into the arms of a delighted child. Ethan would never consider anything he did good or evil, merely practical, or fun. When the only person you serve is yourself, morality becomes a blurry guideline rather than a hard and fast rule.  
  
        He knew he was charming, and he knew how to use that. Whether flirting with lonely housewives as he pocketed their jewelry or causing couples to break up and conveniently being there to  _comfort_ the heartbroken...he got along fine. He’d occasionally be courted by some smooth talker who was so very sure of his sexual prowess, only for Ethan to manipulate him into mediocrity or failure, always being sure to roll his eyes when the deed was done. This undercutting of others’ egos was always more satisfying than the sex itself. There was no fun in relinquishing control when the person you allow to lead is deadweight. He tended to leave people’s beds before they woke, slipping out into the night before anyone could ask questions. He never brought anyone to his own home. It was a somewhat lonely life, but remaining solitary by choice is a lot better feeling than a relationship’s inevitable end.  
  
        His contact who did contract work for the Watchers Council faithfully and discretely kept tabs on Rupert for him, so Ethan knew shortly after Rupert was selected as the Watcher for the Slayer. Ethan considered calling, though he didn’t know what he would say.  _Congratulations on achieving the very thing that you left me to do, great work truly becoming one of the people you used to despise_.  
  
        Considering the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

        Still, when he eventually got called to California for a job, he found himself looking up directions for Sunnydale. It had been over two decades...perhaps it was time to stop in on an old friend.


End file.
